Twitter rage and attacks accompany Trump on the campaign trail for Mid-Terms

AP/CNN/Independent: Embracing his breakneck return to campaign politics, President Donald Trump on Saturday argued that Republicans needed to control Congress by casting the midterms as a referendum on himself.

In a raucous rally in a sweltering gymnasium north of Columbus, Ohio, Trump pitched for the GOP candidate up in a special election next week and defiantly questioned the idea that, historically, the party that controls the White House suffers in the midterms, declaring “but I say why?”

Republicans are concerned Donald Trump will limit candidates’ popularity in the upcoming midterm elections as he parachutes into Ohio, attempting to drag the party across the line in a once-safe seat.

The GOP holds a razor-thin lead in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District as voters head to the polls for a special election on Tuesday in a constituency represented by a Republican for all bar two years since 1939.

Democratic candidate Danny O’Connor has narrowed the gap to Republican rival Troy Balderson to just one per cent according to recent polls of the district, which Mr Trump carried by 11 points in 2016.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump attacked the intelligence of basketball titan LeBron James, tweeting that an interviewer “made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.” The comment came ahead of an important special election for a House seat in James’ home state, and could add a meaningful obstacle to Republican efforts to retain control of Congress.